Meet your Fangirl Forward NYC speakers
Journalists, creators, marketers, media personalities and more are taking the stage discuss how fandom is a foundation for careers.
A couple weeks ago, I officially announced Fangirl Forward NYC! Taking place on Friday, October 9, it’s a half-day gathering exploring the future of fandom in entertainment one lens at a time, and this fall, we’re exploring Fandom as Foundation.
The event is all about the fan-to-professional pipeline, and how fandom builds the skills, instincts and fluency to succeed in the industry before anyone gives you a title for it. It’s been so exciting to see how these ideas resonate with everyone, the response has been truly overwhelming in the best way. Founding Fan tickets sold out on announcement day, and I’ve been so moved by everyone who believed in this before they even knew who was speaking.
I spent months looking for the right people for this room, specifically searching of the people whose fandom was genuinely the foundation of what they built. I’m excited to now share who I found.
Panel #1: Fandom as Fluency
The fans working within industry institutions, and what they know that nobody taught them.
This panel is built around different pathways fans can take into the industry. Not every fan-to-professional story looks the same, and I wanted this panel to reflect that. Each panelist represents a different career archetype. Whether you’re a writer, a community builder, or someone who wants to be the voice people tune in for, there’s a seat at this table for you.
Love being on camera or behind a microphone? Meet Ally.
Ally Ali is a Gracies award-winning radio entertainment personality. Over her 8 year on-air journey at 106.1 BLI on Long Island, she has had her own show in every major day part (Syke & Ally Ali in the Morning, Ally Ali 10-3, Coming Home with Ally Ali, and Ally Ali After Dark). As the self-proclaimed BIGGEST Jonas Brothers fan (yup...she’s seen them 74 times to date), fangirl life is threaded into every break and makes up who she is. Being a fangirl has helped her bring fans and artists together over the years, asking the questions fans want to know. Some of her biggest interviews include Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Gracie Abrams, Lizzo, Dove Cameron, Madison Beer and many more. She also has appeared on season 2 of NBC’s PASSWORD with Jimmy Fallon and Keke Palmer.
Love storytelling? Meet Larisha.
Larisha Paul is a Staff Writer at Rolling Stone, where she covers pop music and its implications within the context of broader cultural discourse, particularly as it relates to fandom and nostalgia. Before joining Rolling Stone, she filled her ever-expanding portfolio with interviews, reported features, and cultural criticism published by Billboard, Teen Vogue, MTV News, Paper Magazine, UPROXX, the FADER, and more.
Larisha has built her career around her decades-long, impassioned music fandom, the best parts of which have been carried into her writing. Keeping her finger on the pulse of pop culture has been essential in shaping her understanding of herself at crucial moments in life. It has also provided a common ground through which she has connected with strangers and friends alike, revealing that we aren’t all that different after all.
Larisha has appeared as a guest speaker on podcasts including the New York Times Popcast and Pop Pantheon and guest lectured courses at New York University and the City University of New York. She is featured as a music expert in the CNN documentary Call Me Country: Beyoncé & Nashville’s Renaissance, now streaming on HBO Max.
Love building community? Meet Katie.
Katie Stephens is a lifelong fangirl who grew up so passionate about her favorite artists that she decided the only option was to turn that passion into a career. It all clicked after watching Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never for the first time and deciding she wanted to be one of the people who got to follow him around for a living.
After spending two and a half years on MTV’s Brand Social team, Katie recently transitioned into a Marketing Manager role at the independent record label Fast Friends. She has also held positions at SiriusXM, Warner Music Group, Live Nation, and more. Across every project she works on, her goal is to help artists build meaningful, authentic connections with their audiences, because she knows firsthand the impact those relationships can have.
Fandom as Fluency will be moderated by J’na Jefferson.
J’na Jefferson is a writer, producer, and multimedia storyteller from the Jersey Shore, now based in Brooklyn. Growing up surrounded by diverse communities—and spending countless hours watching VH1, MTV, and E! countdown shows—sparked a lifelong love of music and pop culture that continues to shape her work. Her writing and commentary have appeared in Rolling Stone, USA Today, Harper’s Bazaar, and BBC Radio, where she explores the intersections of music, culture, identity, and social impact.
Panel #2: Fandom as Ownership
They didn’t wait for permission, and neither should you.
This panel features four people who looked at what didn’t exist and decided to make it themselves, each from a completely different starting point.
Love fan-first media? Meet Lindsey.
Lindsey Dadourian is a concert and portrait photographer based in Philadelphia and a huge fan of music. Music is the root of her being and her love for it pushed her to create something larger for people that feel the same way. She started Pleaser Magazine in 2020. Since then, Pleaser has grown into a full editorial operation covering music, culture, and the fan experience with cover features on artists including Wallows, Waterparks, and Brittany Broski, and festival coverage from Pilgrimage, Austin City Limits, and beyond.
Love building from the ground up? Meet Victoria.
From South Philadelphia, Victoria Hamersky’s hobby always was music and fandom. Being a city kid with a lack of things to do, she found herself involved in the arts from as young as 5-years-old, and the rest was history. Being a fangirl and having run successful Stan twitter accounts, Tori began to build a reputation within the fandom world as an artist manager hopeful. From starting in artist management and launching VH MGMT Group at 17, to picking up experience across the industry and working in A&R at Atlantic Records and Elektra Records. The reason of how and why, has always stemmed from being a fangirl and having an ear for finding artists early and wanting to help them grow and be protected in the music industry. Tori’s goal through her work in artist management, A&R and live entertainment, is to make this industry more inclusive and accessible for women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and Disabled persons.
Love discovering artists before anyone else? Meet Caterina.
Caterina is an A&R and talent manager based in NYC. Before founding the fan-first management, consulting and label services company Pure Victory Creative, she spent 7 years within the Atlantic/Elektra Records system having signed and worked across a variety of exciting artists including PinkPantheress, ThxSoMch, Chloe Moriondo, Sydney Rose, Brittany Broski and more. She helped shepherd PinkPantheress to her first global hit with multi platinum “Boys a Liar pt. 2” and ThxSoMch’s viral platinum hit “SPIT IN MY FACE!” as well as launch internet sensation Brittany Broski’s blossoming artist career. With a passion for building fandom and a true calling for artist development, Caterina’s goal is to discover artists and make records that are incredibly formative to people across the globe.
Love creating content? Meet Stephanie.
Stephanie Niemiec is a 24-year-old NYC-based content creator originally from the Chicago area. A lifelong performer, she has been dancing since the age of three, plays piano, taught herself guitar, loves to sing, and has always found joy in expressing herself through music. Although she earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Purdue University, it was her lifelong love of music and fandom that shaped her career.
At 15 years old, Stephanie started a Taylor Swift fan account simply to connect with other fans who loved her music as much as she did. Inspired by artists like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Stevie Nicks, what began as a creative outlet grew into a thriving platform and community, proving that genuine passion can open incredible doors.
Today, Stephanie creates content for her community of 350k+ followers across social media celebrating music, concerts, and fan culture while collaborating with artists, brands, and entertainment companies. Her love of music has taken her around the world—including attending 34 Eras Tour shows across multiple countries— led to a BuzzFeed interview about her presence in the fan community, earned her the opportunity to dance onstage with Zara Larsson at iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball, and allowed her to collaborate with artists to help promote new music and connect fans with the songs they love.
Fandom as Ownership will be moderated by Izzy Ingram.
Izzy Ingram is an award-winning film, digital, and event producer based in New York City. She began her career at MTV Digital, working on the VMAs red carpet, capturing live performances from emerging artists, and producing interviews with acclaimed actors, musicians, and entertainers. In May 2026, she joined the production team at NowThis, one of the fastest-growing gen-Z media brands, where she produces short-form digital content. Izzy is also the founder and executive producer of Pop Talks, a live pop culture lecture series where chronically online fangirls gather to unpack internet lore, celebrate music and celebrity culture, and passionately defend their most unhinged theories.
Student ($25) and Standard ($35) tickets are live now. Get yours before October 9.
Can’t wait to see you there!